Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)

The Civic Arena during a Penguins game in 2008

The $22 million ($202 million in 2021 dollars[3]) arena was completed for the CLO in 1961.[11] Mayor David L. Lawrence had publicly announced plans for a "civic theater" as early as February 8, 1953[12] after years of public pressure had built after CLO president, civic leader and owner of Kaufmann's department store Edgar J. Kaufmann announced his intention on December 1, 1948, to find a new home for the group. Funding was provided by a combination of public and private money, including grants from Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, and Kaufmann.[5] The arena's design incorporated 2,950 tons of stainless steel from Pittsburgh.[11]

To make room for the arena, the city used eminent domain to displace 8,000 residents and 400 businesses from the lower Hill District, the cultural center of black life in Pittsburgh.[13] Demolition began in 1955 and was finished by 1960.[14] The last structure to be demolished was Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, built in 1908. The city charter prohibited using eminent domain on churches, but the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh was able to do so because it was not a city entity.[15] On July 21, 1959, a steel strike halted work on the arena and delayed its opening date.

The Arena was designed for the CLO, which previously held productions at Pitt Stadium. The roof, which was supported by a 260-foot (79 m) arch, was free of internal support leaving no obstruction for the seats within. The roof, which had a diameter of 415 feet (126 m), was divided into eight sections. Six of the sections could fold underneath two—in 2½ minutes—making the Civic Arena the world's first major indoor sports stadium with a retractable roof.[16] A total of 42 trucks mounted on 78 wheels, 30 of which were individually driven, supported and moved the six moveable sections. The trucks, gear motors and 480-volt AC motor drive that moved the roof sections were designed and manufactured by Heyl & Patterson Inc., a local specialist engineering firm.[17]

The arena's capacity fluctuated depending on the event being hosted, but was increased due to additions between 1972 and 1991.[16] The arena originally consisted only of lower bowl seating, but over time, upper decks were installed in the arena's "end zones" to increase capacity. In December 1999, Mellon Financial purchased the Arena's naming rights in a 10-year, $18 million agreement, which renamed the arena Mellon Arena.[18]

The original center scoreboard was an electromechanical Nissen scoreboard with digital clock display, which appears in the movie The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. That board was replaced during the 1986 renovations by an American Sign and Indicator scoreboard with a black-and-white three-line matrix animation/messageboard on each side, which appears in Sudden Death. White Way Sign created the arena's final center scoreboard, this one with a Sony JumboTron videoboard on each side, which remained for the arena's final sixteen years of use.

On September 17, 1961, the Ice Capades hosted the arena's first event. Globally televised figure skating was hosted by the arena three times: The 1983 United States Figure Skating Championships, 1994 and 2004 editions of Skate America all having nearly week-long competitions.

Penguins

As part of the 1967 NHL expansion, the city of Pittsburgh was selected to host one of six new franchises. With a hockey seating capacity of 12,508, Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena was eight seats over the NHL's minimum seating benchmark.[16] Due to its outward appearance, the Arena was nicknamed "The Igloo" which led to the naming of the Penguins.[39] (The connection is somewhat inaccurate, since igloos are found in the Northern Hemisphere, while penguins are indigenous to Antarctica.) The Penguins debuted at the Civic Arena on October 11, 1967, in a 2–1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Andy Bathgate scored the Penguins's first goal in the arena. It was the first NHL game played between an expansion team and an "Original Six" team. The Penguins won their first game at the Arena on October 21, when they became the first expansion team to beat an original NHL franchise—besting the Chicago Black Hawks 4–2.[40] On January 21, 1990, the Civic Arena hosted the 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game. Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux scored three goals on his first three shots—the first coming 21 seconds into the game. He later scored a fourth goal and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.[41] The arena also hosted the 1997 NHL Entry Draft,[42] as well as games of the 1991, 1992, 2008, and 2009 Stanley Cup Finals.[5] The 2008 Finals marked the only occasion that the Stanley Cup was presented on Mellon Arena ice, after the Penguins were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games.

The Penguins originally planned to wear a jersey patch to commemorate their final season in the Igloo, but it was later scrapped.[43]

The Pittsburgh Penguins played their final regular season game at the Mellon Arena on April 8, 2010, when they defeated the New York Islanders 7–3. More than 50 former Penguins were in attendance for a pre-game ceremony and "team picture".[44]

Pittsburgh Penguins players past and present were honored during a pregame ceremony prior to the final regular season game at Mellon Arena, April 8, 2010.

The Pittsburgh Penguins played their last game in Mellon Arena on May 12, 2010; a 5–2 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens to eliminate them from the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. This means the Canadiens both opened and closed the Penguins' career at the arena, handing out defeats at both events.

Panoramic view of the Civic Arena from D-Level in October 2007. The balconies on either end of this photo were not part of the original structure. The lower E-level balcony was added in 1975 and the upper F-level balcony was added in 1993 season to expand seating capacity.

In 1957, before the arena was opened, the under-construction building was officially known as the Civic Auditorium Amphitheater. By 1961, when it opened, Pittsburgh sign makers had decided that Civic Arena fit better on street signs, and the new, shorter name stuck. Still though, for the few years after it opened, it was sometimes referred to as the Civic Auditorium.

In the early days, The Pittsburgh Dome was also popular name choice, but nothing came of it.

In April 1988, city Councilman Mark Pollock proposed renaming it the Richard S. Caliguiri Arena, after the city's popular mayor who was diagnosed with amyloidosis. Caliguiri died a month later, and nothing came of this name, either.

Allegheny County Commissioner Pete Flaherty believed that officially renaming the arena The Igloo would bring marketing potential in 1992. Again, the Civic Arena name stayed.

In 1997, the Penguins sold naming rights to Allegheny Energy for $5 million, which would've renamed the arena Allegheny Energy Dome. However, the Penguins did not own the building nor its naming rights – the Sports Commission of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County did, and the deal fell through.

But, by 1999, this had changed. When Mario Lemieux bought the Penguins out of bankruptcy, the naming rights were also awarded to him. They then sold the rights to Mellon Financial for $18 million, and the arena was finally renamed Mellon Arena. The arena kept the name after Mellon merged with The Bank of New York to form The Bank of New York Mellon in 2007 and didn't go through with the "BNY Mellon" rebranding like other buildings bearing the Bank of New York or Mellon name such as One Mellon Center.

The Mellon Arena name was allowed to expire on August 1, 2010, with the building now vacant and the Penguins moving to the new Consol Energy Center (later renamed PPG Paints Arena) across the street. The closed building officially became the Civic Arena again.[51]

At its closing in 2010, the Civic Arena was the oldest and third smallest arena in the NHL by official capacity (the Islanders and Oilers arenas seated fewer). In later years, the arena's staff was forced to use space for multiple purposes never intended in the building's original design.[52] The Penguins franchise agreed to a deal with city and state officials to fund a new home arena for the franchise in March 2007. The PPG Paints Arena is located across the street from the site of Civic Arena and has a higher seating capacity.[5] The Penguins played their first game at PPG Paints Arena October 7, 2010.[53]

The Penguins' 3 Stanley Cup Championship Banners displayed at the Arena in 2009–10

A March 2007 agreement between the SEA and the Penguins states that Civic Arena would be demolished after completion of PPG Paints Arena in July 2010. During this time, SEA conducted a historic assessment of the arena. It was eligible to be considered for the National Register of Historic Places, mainly because of its unique, retractable dome. A private consultant to SEA was hired to conduct the survey. The consultant followed the state Historic and Museum Commission guidelines to determine whether demolishing the arena, or reusing it, would adversely affect historic structures or artifacts in the area. The recommendations of the consultant to SEA were scheduled to be delivered in June 2010.[54]

The arena undergoing demolition in January 2012. At that time, all of the dome's stainless steel had been removed.

On September 16, 2010, the Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority voted unanimously to demolish the Civic Arena. SEA Board chairman, State Senator Wayne Fontana, D–Brookline, said the board's decision will not be final unless someone comes forward with a better idea on the use of the Arena. During the summer of 2010, workers removed asbestos from the building while a demolition plan was designed. The board also decided to sell assets (handled by the auction company Asset Auctions) from inside and would later award a demolition contract in February 2011.[55] Proponents for retaining the building opposed the demolition decision in court, and attempted to seek landmark status.

On November 24, 2010, the building's demolition was delayed due to a last-minute nomination as a National Historic Landmark.[56] Also, on January 5, 2011, the Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission voted 5–1 in favor for preliminary approval of the arena's historic nomination status. The vote paved the way for a formal hearing on the proposed designation on March 2.[57] The HRC ultimately voted against landmark status on March 2. After also failing to get historic status approval from City Planning and City Council, Preservation Pittsburgh filed a federal lawsuit in another attempt to save the arena. The 3rd appeals court denied the lawsuit saying it had no jurisdiction in the matter, and demolition began Monday, September 26, 2011. The demolition was not a traditional type of demolition for sports arenas. In November 2011, the Penguins started selling Christmas ornaments crafted from the Civic Arena's steel roof. The team used the promotion to raise money for its charitable foundation. Grove City-based Wendell August Forge, the oldest and largest forge in the United States, created two types of ornaments: one with the arena and the Pittsburgh skyline and another with the arena with the Penguins' logo.[58] The Penguins had originally planned to sell 6,000 ornaments, but due to demand, the team ended selling over 40,000 pieces.[59] The arena was being disassembled over time, and originally expected to be complete in May 2012. However, demolition was finished early as the last panel of the retractable roof fell down on March 31, 2012.[60]

Currently a parking lot for PPG Paints Arena occupies the space of the former arena.

Civic Arena has served as a filming location for several major Hollywood productions including:

• The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh, a 1979 basketball film starring Flip Wilson, Stockard Channing, and Julius Erving as members of the fictional Pittsburgh Pisces NBA team.
• Grateful Dead Download Series Volume 9, 1989
• Sudden Death, a 1995 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a retired Pittsburgh firefighter who tries to save his children and the Vice President from terrorists during the pivotal Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. In an intermission between the game's periods, the retractable-roof is opened for a fireworks show. It is opened once more in the climax of the film by Van Damme's character.
• Rock Star, a 2001 film starring Mark Wahlberg as a musician heading to the Pittsburgh arena for a concert in 1987.
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a 2008 Kevin Smith film; one of the final scenes is shot outside the arena.
• She's Out of My League, a 2010 romantic comedy; the arena and the Pittsburgh Penguins are featured as the backdrop to a date night.

Also, the Russian movie Brother 2 was filmed at the arena. According to the script, the protagonist, Danila Borgov, arrived in the United States to help his friend's brother, Penguins player Dmitry Gromov (though events of the film take place in Chicago). Notable hockey players Aleksei Morozov, Jaromír Jágr and Darius Kasparaitis appeared in the movie.

The arena also served as the recording location for The Doors album Live in Pittsburgh 1970 in 1970.

The arena appeared on WQED's mid-1970s national production ident.

• Cooper, Bruce C. (1994). Michael L. LaBlanc (ed.). Professional Sports Team Histories: Hockey. Detroit: Gale Research Inc. ISBN 978-0-8103-8862-8.
• O'Brien, Jim (1994). Penguin Profiles. Pittsburgh: James P. O'Brien – Publishing. ISBN 0-916114-16-3.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mellon Arena.

• Reuse the Igloo
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Mellon Arena
• Pittsburgh Sports & Exhibition Authority: Mellon Arena
• YouTube-WQED Pittsburgh Series with Rick Sebak on the Arena
• YouTube – Inside the Abandoned Pittsburgh Civic (Mellon) Arena
• Mellon Arena memories from a long-time usher/manager
• Civic Arena view from above
• "Retractable Dome Will Cover Arena." Popular Mechanics, January 1959, p. 114, early article on purposed dome.
• Civic Arena 50 Years of Music -Pittsburgh Music History
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-6780, "Civic Arena, 66 Mario Lemieux Place, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania", 105 photos, 2 color transparencies, 61 measured drawings, 8 data pages, 21 photo caption pages